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by EndlessMoonrise



Category: Wolfblood (TV)
Genre: Canada, Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-13 03:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10505076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndlessMoonrise/pseuds/EndlessMoonrise
Summary: "You're cute." He rolled his eyes and sat down, pulling me into his lap with my back to his chest and nuzzling at my neck."And you're nervous... Why?"I shrugged, running my chin over the top of his head. "It's the whole big family meeting thing... The Smith's and the Morris' finally all under one roof... What if they don't like me..?"...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lovecamedown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovecamedown/gifts).



> A very 'Happy Birthday!' to one of the best friends I ever could have asked for! I'm so glad to have met you, you crazy ball of nerd! You brighten my days with your fangirling and I can't imagine how boring my life would be without you making me watch your fave shows. I mean sure, it would be easier and far less painful, but very boring ;) I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day!! Whether that's going out or just snuggling up to Star Wars and The Flash! If so, tell our children I said Hi! ;) Xxx
> 
> For anyone else. Hi! It's me, the same EndlessMoonrise from fanfiction.net. FanFic just isn't playing at the moment. I Hope you too enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Maddy's POV

 

Rhydian was perched in the window seat with his forehead pressed to the pane, looking eagerly down the long, snow covered drive. I smiled softly just watching him, his eyes bright and that excited grin on his lips, it wasn't often that you got to see him like this, see him acting his age. He was always so mature. 

He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his breath making the glass fog as he exhaled, so I wrapped my arms over his shoulders and kissed the spot behind his ear. "You're cute." He rolled his eyes and sat down, pulling me into his lap with my back to his chest and nuzzling at my neck.

"And you're nervous..." He went from nuzzling to nipping and kissing, moving up from my neck to my ear, and my eyes fluttered closed. "Why?"

I shrugged, running my chin over the top of his head. "It's the whole big family meeting thing... The Smith's and the Morris' finally all under one roof... What if they don't like me..?" 

He pulled back, brushing my hair away and made a face at me, like he thought I was being ridiculous. “Of course they like you, and you’ve spoken to them on Skype, it’s not like you’ve never met them before.” 

“I’ve been there when you speak to them on Skype.” I corrected. I’d spoken to his dad a handful of times, but then Gerwyn seemed to be the type of bloke that could talk to anyone, about anything…He joked on with me, mostly at Rhydian’s expense, and I got on well with him. Ceri on the other hand... “Your mum never says much when I’m there.” I murmured. 

He sighed lightly, fingers threading though my hair. “She doesn’t speak to me much on the webcam either to be honest. She’s still unsure about computers in general.”

I nodded but… “She hated me in the beginning…”

He rolled his eyes and leaned in. “Yeah.” He grinned against my lips. “‘Cause you’re the wicked she-wolf that corrupted her beautiful boy, and turned him tame.”

I snorted and kissed him back.

“She’s different now.” He said gently once we’d pulled away. “Less… Erratic.” I smiled weakly at him, I got the impression that she’d calmed down a lot since she’d started living in Stoneybridge, since Rhydian’s dad had come back… and Shannon and Tom seemed to get on well with her… but I guess I’d have to see it to believe it. “I know she likes you.” He reassured. “She told me.”

“Really?”

“Mmmhmm… You make me happy, and I love you.” He said simply. “And that’s good enough for her.” His arms tightened around my waist and pressed his lips to my cheek, rocking us back and forth. “Besides, she can’t criticise you for being tame anymore, she’s practically there herself. She actually went shopping for clothes the other day, and enjoyed it.”

I laughed, turning so I could see him better. “You don’t take after her in that respect then, huh?” Rhydian hated clothes shopping with a passion, something I’d realised soon after he’d come to live with us after his time in the wild. He’d tried to carry on wearing his old clothes that the Vaughn’s sent over, apparently not caring that his jeans were several inches too short in the legs, until finally mam and I had gone out and gotten him some new ones.

When he’d moved out here he’d spent weeks washing and rewashing the same two sets of clothes he arrived with, or borrowing dad’s shirts, and I finally realised that he’d probably carry on that way until someone went and got him more… and of course since he’d only been back a few weeks and I was apparently still an absolute pushover, I’d been the sucker that had gone and got them for him.

“Why would I need to take after my mum when I've got my own personal shopper.” He smirked and nuzzled up against my neck.

I leaned away from him and scoffed. “Ha! No way! You’re on your own from now on, mate.”

“Mads!” He whined, and I turned in his arms kneeling with my legs either side of his lap.

“You think I enjoy shopping any more than you do?” I gripped the collar of his shirt, one that I had bought, and tugged. “It’s bad enough without having to figure out yours as well.” I shoved him gently. “Men’s sizes are weird.”

He groaned and let his head fall against my chest. “You’re telling me... I’ve been confused since my clothes stopped coming in kids sizes.” 

I laughed and sat back on his legs, lifting a hand to stroke his hair. “When mum was explaining it to me she said it was like bra sizes.”

“Cause I have so much more experience with those.” I batted him upside the head and he laughed against me.

I’d teach him not to get sarcastic with me. “With bras there’s a number and a letter, just like men’s jeans.” 

“Maddy.” He laughed awkwardly, so of course I carried on.

“On bra’s the number measures this bit..” I pulled back and drew my finger across the bottom of my bra over my shirt. He hummed in acknowledgment glancing at where I’d pointed before averting his eyes again and looking out the window. “On your jeans the number measures this bit. “ I made a grab for his sides, where I knew he was ridiculously ticklish. 

“Maddy! Stop!” He pleaded, squirming beneath me and grabbing my hands. I laughed giddily and let myself lean into his chest, turning my head up to press my face against his neck. “Can we please stop talking about your bras?”

“Why?” I grinned evilly. 

“Cause thinking about them is really very… distracting.” He groaned, running his hands up my sides. I laughed and tilted my head back up to press my lips to his, giggling though the kiss. 

He slipped his hands under my shirt and pressed them to the bare skin at the small of my back. I gasped and bit at his lip and growled at him ‘cause. “Jesus! Rhydian! Your hands are freezing!” 

“They’re a lot warmer now though.” He laughed, turning them over and pressed the cold side on a spot higher up my back. 

I arched away from his hands and into him. “You little shit.” Rhydian always had cold hands, and it wasn’t just the Canadian weather either, cause they’d been like this in Stoneybridge, either way his favourite way to overcome his crappy circulation seemed to be to warm them up on me. “Make the most of it, pretty soon we’re gonna have two sets of parents keeping an eye on us… and your parents have much better hearing than mine.” 

It was a running joke that Rhydian would scarcely hold my hand when my parents were around, I don’t think he was scared so to speak, perhaps a little nervous, mostly he was just adorably awkward that way. “My parents would have to stop making out with each other long enough to notice.” He scoffed.

I rolled my eyes. “They’re not that bad.”

I leaned in to kiss him but he pulled back enough to smirk. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that in three weeks time.” I scoffed and tried to capture his lips again. “Pretty sure they think they’re eighteen again.”

I gripped his face between my palms to keep him still. “I’m starting to wonder how your mum gets him to stop talking long enough for a kiss!”

Rhydian was different than he had been back in Stoneybridge, he’d come so far from the boy I'd first met a year and a half ago... I don't know, he just finally seemed comfortable in his own skin, at peace with what he was and who he was. Finding his parents had helped a lot with that, but he had worked hard to get here, and I was so proud of him.

He was a lot chattier now. Something I’d see sporadically in Stoneybridge whenever he felt particularly relaxed, now seemed to be his natural demeanor. A trait I soon realized was inherited from Gerwyn. I smiled, I saw more and more of his dad in him everyday.

Rhydian smiled up at me, head tilted to the side and a lopsided grin on his lips, which had become infuriatingly endearing. He leaned in to kiss me and I moved my hands to the back of his neck before kissing him back. 

His fingers traced the curve of my spine and made me shiver despite how hard I tried to stop it. His lips were open and soft against mine, and I could feel his pulse beating against my palm, strong and slightly fast… the thought made me smile and I ran a hand down over his shoulder and across his chest to feel it better. 

I pulled back just enough to trail my lips down over his jaw and neck. He’d not long gotten out of the shower, so he smelt really good, fresh, like his body wash and shampoo. His natural scent was also more prominent this way, and I secretly kind of wished that his parents wouldn’t be here so soon so I could spend a few more hours curled up against his chest and breathing him in… and it was thoughts like these that made me roll my eyes at myself, cause seriously, when did I become that kind of lass?

When I finally worked my way back to his lips, I nipped playfully at them and…

There was a sharp rapping knock on the window by our heads, making us both startle. Rhydian turned his head so fast that it collided with the window with a low thunk, and I think I may have ended up nipping him a little harder than I’d meant to.

Rhydian hissed in pain and lifted a hand to rub at his forehead, and we both turned to find Gerwyn, laughing and waving at us from the other side of the glass. I only just had time to see Ceri scold him and bat him playfully away from the window, before I groaned and hid my face against Rhydian’s chest, completely mortified. 

…

Gerwyn was still smirking when we walked in, eyebrow raised in amusement. And I couldn’t help but turn away as my cheeks burned in embarrassment. He really was just an older, more animated version of Rhydian… Except he wasn’t Rhydian, he was Rhydian’ s dad, and he’d just caught me making out with his little boy. "Hope we're not, you know..." He gestured between Rhydian and I. "Interrupting anything."

Rhydian scowled at him, but it only lasted a few seconds until he turned away bashfully as well. "Shut up." He scoffed, trying to hide a smirk. His dad laughed and pulled him into a hug, pressing his nose to his hair.

I let go of Rhydian’s hand so he could hug him back, and took a step or two away so he could greet his parents properly. His mum caught my eye and surprised me by smiling softly at me. The changes were much more noticeable in person, not only was she cleaner and dressed better, but you could tell that her demeanour was different to what it used to be. Before, back when she still lived wild, you’d been able to sense her unease, that constant state of high alert, and it had always put me on edge too whenever she was around. I was pretty sure it was a wild thing, cause it was something I’d noticed in Jana and even Rhydian when he’d first come home from the wild.

Now she felt calmer, I wasn’t picking up or reacting to her unease the way I had before, cause it was no longer there. 

Her face lit up when Rhydian turned to hug her. “You’ve grown.” She laughed, pushing herself up onto her toes to hug him better, he was at least half an head taller than her now and Rhydian had to lean down a bit to rest his head on her shoulder and turn his nose against her hair. 

One thing he missed was his Mum’s scent, it calmed him the same way mine did, only in a more primal way I think. A few weeks after she’d come for him the first time, when I’d finally gotten him to confide in me and talk about it, he’d admitted that he remembered her scent from when he was a cub, or at least it was familiar to him, and that her scent brought back fuzzy half memories that he hadn’t had before. 

Although he didn’t admit it, I was pretty sure that it had scared him. He’d lived so long believing that he’d been abandoned, and then suddenly everything had turned on his axis, he’d started getting memories of being loved, proof that his mum wanted him, and he hadn’t been entirely sure how to process that. 

Now though, he revelled in it, and watching the three of them I couldn’t help but smile. He swayed his mum side-to-side and laughed. “How was your flight?”

“Ughh.” She mumbled against his temple as she kissed him, then pulled back just enough that she could still hold him by the shoulders. “You try spending nine hours in a metal bird with that.” She muttered, waving a hand back towards Gerwyn, who only smirked back at them. “If I hear the words turbulence and aero-dramatics one more time-“

“It’s aero-dynamics, Ceriad.” He turned to me with a grin and winked.

“Ceriad me again and I’ll swing for you.” She gave him a look, like the one a parent gave a cub when they were misbehaving, but I frowned… Rhydian called me Cariad, which I knew was Welsh for sweetheart, but…

Rhydian must have noticed my confusion cause he scoffed. “Cariad.” He pointed at me. “Ceri-ad.” He pointed back at his mum. “Dad thinks he’s being clever.”

I laughed, turning between Gerwyn and Ceri and Rhydian, who rolled their eyes. “Don’t encourage him.” 

Gerwyn turned to me and smiled. “Maddy, It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“You too.” I laughed, a little hesitant and unsure as to how to greet him, but he held out his arms, so I moved to hug him back. 

He must have noticed my hesitation because he laughed and squeezed me a little tighter “Promise I wont attack you like Rhydian’s other parent did.” I laughed, perhaps a little nervously, and he pulled back, keeping one arm over my shoulder. “She grows on you, I promise. Ceri just isn't very good with first impressions." He stage whispered. “She attacked me when we first met too.”

“And me.” Rhydian smirked. 

“With a stick.” Gerwyn added.

Ceri gaped at them both. “You.” She pointed a finger at Gerwyn. “Were a strange wolf from a rival pack. And you.” She jabbed a finger at Rhydian’s chest. “Mister, that was self-defense. You came at me.” 

“Basically, what we’re saying is, that attacking people is Ceri’s way of saying she wants to be friends.” Gerwyn laughed, squeezing my shoulder one last time before letting go. Ceri crossed her arms and pursed her lips in annoyance, and he went to her and wrapped an arm across her shoulder, pulling her against his chest, and brushing his lips over her hair.

I gravitated back towards Rhydian and lay my head against his arm. “Why don’t you take your parents into the living room while I make us some drinks.”

“Would you like a hand?”

I shook my head. “No, y’alright. You three catch up.” 

…

When I walked back in with the tray of drinks and a plate of biscuits, something I guessed was customary since mam did it every time we had guests, they’d settled on the sofas opposite each other, Ceri and Gerwyn in one and Rhydian in the other. “He’s visited a few times but… Yeah… It’s still early days.” Gerwyn looked down at his hands and smiled sadly.

Ceri placed a hand over his and squeezed it gently. “We’re just going to have to be patient… it’s a lot for him to take in. Me becoming… well, tame.” She shook her head like she wanted a better term but couldn’t think of one. “Your dad being back, us getting back together…”

“Yeah, but he’s not exactly giving things a chance is he?” Rhydian sighed.

“Is this Bryn?” I asked gently, placing the tray down on the coffee table and sitting down beside him. “I thought you’d gotten though to him?”

“So did I.” He muttered. Rhydian had tracked his brother down about a week before he’d moved out here. I think he’d thought that reuniting his mum and brother would soften the blow of him leaving a little bit, but understandably things had been tense. Bryn hadn’t taken any of the changes well, something Rhydian had reluctantly admitted to me one night, that he blamed him mum for.

She’d raised him to loath humans and tames alike, to hate the human world and anything that came from it, the only problem was, that now included her and Gerwyn and Rhydian. You could tell from the look on her face as they talked about him that she deeply regretted it. “Anyway!” She said suddenly, smiling up at Rhydian. “How are you two?” She glanced over at me and but looked away the second our eyes met. 

I turned to Rhydian only to find him looking over at me already, I grinned at him and he laughed bashfully “We’re good, I guess… I mean, we’ve lived together before so…” He shrugged, fiddling with his hands as the tips of his ears went red.

“I think it was more, getting used to the fact that we weren’t just friends anymore.” I laughed, taking one of his fidgeting hands between my own. Being in a relationship with him definitely took some getting used to, not so much the emotional side, we’d had that long before we’d officially gotten together, but the physical bit… anything more than cuddling had been a bit awkward at first.

“That we can relate to.” Gerwyn laughed, leaning back into the sofa, arm around Ceri’s shoulders.

“We were the same, the first time that is” Ceri smiled softly. “And we knew each other what?... Nearly six years before we got together. Things figure themselves out.”

“And then the fun begin- Oww!” Gerwyn rubbed his ribs in the spot where she’d elbowed him.

“Behave!”

Rhydian scoffed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, and I watched him in amusement as he got his first taste of the parental embarrassment I’d had to endure everyday for the past four months. “Maddy and I just got our GCSE results yesterday.”

It was such an obvious subject change that even his parents laughed and eyed him knowingly. 

…

We both went though our results with them, Rhydian shrugging bashfully as they’d gushed over how much his had improved. Segolia had arranged for me to take my exams out here once things had settled down after the move, and allowed Rhydian to take his again too. 

He’d failed most and scraped C’s for the rest of the ones he’d taken at Bradlington high, what with everything that had been going on with Kincaid there hadn’t been much time for revising. Things had settled down before the actual exams, but without the distraction, the anxiety of being separated from his pack had increased tenfold, and along with the stress of the exams themselves, he hadn’t been able to control his wolf long enough to sit them.

At least not with the other students, I guess that was one advantage of Jefferies, of all people, finding out the secret. After not turning up for his maths exam, he’d sat the rest in his office, eyes yellow, veins black, and struggling to keep his fingers human enough to hold his pen.

He’d done much better this time around, even with his art which had been A grade anyway come back this time as an A* only just short of full marks. “You should see his final piece though.” I told them. “No picture I take does it justice.”

“As long as you show them yours, she’s done some long…” He gestured vaguely with his hands. “Exposure thingy with her camera. I don’t know how she did it but the colours.”

“He wants to paint it.” I laughed. 

“I’m gonna paint it.” He corrected with a grin.

“You painted one of the walls in your room too right?” His mum prompted and for a second I forgot how tense things between us were because any chance I got to rave about his latest project, I’d take. “It’s amazing!”

When I’d first moved out here I hadn’t bothered decorating my room, with everything going on, I’d honestly had no motivation to do it. I didn’t want to be here and decorating just seemed to make everything feel more permanent. When Rhydian moved in and we started being able to call Tom and Shannon, things got better. It wasn’t home, and I still got home sick, but I no longer felt as alone I did when I first arrived. 

When I finally decided to decorate last month, after our exams, Rhydian had asked if he could paint one of the walls and I told him sure, by that time we’d both started sleeping in my room anyway so I figured he deserved a say in how it looked. I’d regretted it soon after, but only because he wouldn’t let me watch and started spending hours at a time cooped up in there for weeks. 

We both slept in his room while he painted, and it was only a week and a half ago, when Tom and Shannon had come the visit, that I’d finally been allowed to see, a week and a half later and I was still blown away every time I walked in. 

He’d painted what I could only describe as a mural, which to most people just looked like trees, but to me it was unmistakably the woods back in Stoneybridge, a snapshot of the route we used to take home from school.  
An array of greens and yellows and ambers made up the leaves at my favourite time of year, just as summer turned to autumn, and branches stretched out and spilled out onto the surrounding walls, but the best bit. He and dad had framed some of his sketches and some of my photos; printed from my old memory cards that Rhydian had brought me when he’d moved out here. There were pictures of me and him and Tom and Shannon, and they’d put them up amongst the trees so it looked as though they hung from the branches.

I’d hugged him so hard that he’d picked me up and left my feet dangling, and kissed him to the point where he’d laughed nervously cause I was pretty sure I’d never kissed him quite like that before.

We took his parents through to see it after that, luggage in tow, and Rhydian had stood behind me with him arms around my waist and face hidden in my hair as they complimented him. 

“You’ll be staying next door in Rhydian’s room.” I informed them, nodding at their luggage. “We’ve cleared it of art stuff as best we can and the windows have been open a few days to try and air out the smell of paint.” I peered up at Rhydian accusingly.

He was looking at his parents with a furrowed brow, like he was trying to figure something out. “So…are you two… will the two of you be okay… in there… together?” He mumbled, his cheeks flushing more and more pink as he spoke.

They both frowned at him, then smirked. “What do you mean?” His mum laughed.

Rhydian sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I mean you’re alright sharing a… room.” 

“We’re good.” His dad’s smirk turned into an evil grin, and I had to bite my lip press my shoulders to Rhydian’s chest to keep them from shaking with laughter. “We’re alright sharing the bed too.” 

His parents and I laughed, watching as he opened his mouth and blinked and stuttered. “Great… Uhh, yeah… I… didn’t need to know that.”

I snorted. “You do realise what they had to do for you to be standing here right now, don’t you?” I smirked, and his parents eyed him in amusement.

He made a face and screwed his eyes shut. “Yeah, and I really don’t want to think about it so…” He grabbed my hand and tugged me out into the hallway, leaving his parents to unpack and freshen up.

 

…

 

The next few days were spent adjusting to living with our new guests, figuring out how things worked now that there were six of us, and getting ready for Christmas. The house was getting more and more festive as the days went by, the smell of spices and pine needles saturating the air in the house.

It was Christmas Eve Eve, and mam and I had just finished setting the table ready for Christmas dinner, now we’d settled down in the living room with dad and Rhydian and his parents to watch one of the Christmas movies they’d brought along with them.

Gerwyn and Rhydian were trying to educate Ceri on all things Christmas, explaining the stories behind traditions, from stockings to Santa to…

“What is that?” Ceri’s face was the picture of confusion, brows furrowed and frowning at the TV, making us all laugh.

“It’s called a ‘Muppet.’” Rhydian smirked, opening his arms and guiding me to sit in his lap. 

Ceri shifted back in her seat a little and closer to Gerwyn. “They’re…” She opened and closed her mouth, watching with a wide-eyed, almost terrified look, as the puppets moved and spoke. “Creepy.” She finally settled on.

I grinned up at Rhydian. “This is one of my favourites.” I told him quietly. “Y’know, in a ‘watched it every year for as long as I can remember’ kinda way.” I lay my head down on his shoulder, feeling the soothing beat of his heart through his shirt.

He rested his head against mine and ran his chin over my hair. “I’ve never seen it, not all the way through anyway.”

I pulled back to look at him. “Seriously? You’ve never seen the Muppet’s Christmas carol ”

“Mmm.” He hummed. “I wasn’t exactly one for sitting down as a family, watching films, was I?.. I can’t even remember the last time I spent Christmas with someone I’d known more than a month.” I looked down and frowned at that, I’d been so focused on the fact that this was going to be our first Christmas together, his first with his parents, that I hadn’t really thought about the fact that it was practically Rhydian’s first family Christmas at all. “Hey.” He murmured, jostling his legs lightly beneath me. 

I looked up and he smiled reassuringly, before leaning in to press his lips to my forehead, and that was the end of it.

...

By the end of the film, Ceri, while still not completely won over by the Muppet’s, wasn’t as freaked out by them as she had been in the beginning. She sat on the same sofa as us, with her feet tucked beneath Gerwyn’s legs, with his arm around her and her head on his shoulder. Mam and dad weren’t sat much differently, and Rhydian and I had scooted down, almost to lying down, and I’d pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa down over us to keep off the chill that had started to creep in with the moonrise.

“Maddy, think you could untangle yourself long enough stick in the next DVD and make us all a cuppa?” Mam called.

It was a rhetorical question, but still, I curled myself closer and shook my head. “Nope.”

“Now. Please.” She said a little louder, the ‘don’t mess with me’ tone clear in her voice. 

I groaned in protest against Rhydian’s chest and threw the blanket off onto the floor, clambering over his legs to stand up, trying to negotiate the mess of slippers and mugs and phone chargers that had accumulated, with my feet. When I was clear of everything I looked up, but then Rhydian tried to pull the blanket back up over him and my legs got tangled in the fabric.

The next thing I knew I was falling, my head colliding with something hard on the way down, before I hit the floor. I opened my mouth to, I don’t know, cry out, gasp, breathe? But no sound came, the air was stuck in my lungs and I couldn’t get it to move, I couldn’t breathe, all I knew was the splitting pain in the side of my head and shoulder, and the shouting.

“Maddy!”

“Madeline!”

I was clutching my head with the one arm the seemed to be working, hoping to relieve some of the pain, and felt myself being sat up. I leaned in to whoever it was, the smallest of whimpers sounding in my throat as I struggled in my shock to drag in some much needed air. “Let me see.” Ceri told me, tugging gently at my hand, and I figured it was most likely her that I was leaning against. “Let me see.” She said again, firmer this time.

I pulled my hand away shakily, hell, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably; I could feel the tingling in my palms from my wolf. It was only after seeing my blood coating my hands that I finally found my voice. I cried out, a panicked, strangled sound and struggled in Ceri’s hold. 

She gripped me tighter and pulled me back against her chest, her hand replacing my own against my head. “Head back.” She tried to reach around to tilt my chin but knocked my shoulder, pain stabbed though me like a knife and I growled and thrashed trying to get away.   
“What are you doing to her?!” I turned towards the voice, Mam’s voice.

Ceri’s arm remained clamped around me, holding me still, and the hand that wasn’t on my head, reached around to prod at my shoulder. “Dislocated.” She said more to herself than anything. 

“Mam.” I cried, I could breathe now, but only in shaky inhales and exhales.

Mam reached out for me, and I tried to go to her but Ceri recoiled, tugging me with her. “I need you to step outside, you’re making her worse.” Ceri told her calmly.

Mam stiffened; eyes glowing yellow and a growl slipping passed her lips. “She’s my daughter!”

Ceri stiffened, her grip on me getting tighter, and I felt the beginnings of her own growl in her chest, against my back. The tension in the room was suffocating and all I wanted was to get out, get away from all the negative energy, but then Ceri shook her head as though to clear it, and breathed deeply.

“And we both know how hard it is to think straight when our cubs are hurt.” Ceri, said firmly, but now emitting a soothing sense of calm as she spoke. “You’re both distressed, and she’s going to pick up on that, and if she wolfs out, it’s going to be a lot harder to treat her.”

I could only guess, but judging by Mam’s stance they were staring each other down. “Trust me to take care of her.” Ceri continued when Mam didn’t. “Trust me the way I trust you to take care of my cub.” Mam’s eye flitted up towards what I assumed to be Rhydian, then back, I personally didn’t see anything in her expression to suggest she’d submitted, but Ceri must have cause I felt her turn and heard Mam walk out, dad following closely behind. 

“Rhydian, give me your shirt.” Rhydian didn’t answer her, and I managed to tilt my head just enough to peer beneath her arm to see him. He was stood to the side of us. Frozen. With his fists and jaw clenched, he was staring down at us unblinking; his eyes were yellow and the veins in his hands black. “Rhydian. Shirt. Now!” His mam ordered, and my first instinct was to tell her to back off, but then he snapped into action, pulling the over shirt off his shoulders with shaky hands, leaving him in his t-shirt. 

Ceri balled the fabric up and pressed it against my head, pulling Rhydian’s hand to rest over it. “Hold it here.” She instructed, and Rhydian did as he was told but I could feel him shaking. 

Ceri took my arm then, the dislocated one, and manoeuvred it carefully to rest against my chest, my hand on the opposite shoulder. I cried at the pain, I just wanted it to stop, and Ceri stroked my hair gently. “I know, Cariad. Shhh.”

“Take her for a moment.” Being moved made my head and shoulder ache, but just having Rhydian’s scent so close was a relief, at least it was until I started to register the rapid thudding of his heart and his panicked gasps of breath.

Panic attack.

He hadn’t been this close to one since… a few weeks after he got here, when mam and dad had tried to make us sleep in separate beds again. He’d woken up in the middle of the night howling and drenched in sweat. “Rhydian.” I whimpered. The pain in my head and shoulder were searing, but I couldn’t stand to see him like this, he got so withdrawn after a panic attack that I’d do anything I could to prevent one getting too out of hand. 

Usually I got him to breathe along with me, he had a tendency in this state, to breathe in but not out, gasping in air until his lungs couldn’t take any more, but right now I couldn’t even do that. Being in here wasn’t doing him any good, and as much as I wanted him to stay, I knew the best place for him right now was anywhere but with me 

There was a rustling of fabric as Ceri pulled her cardigan off her shoulders, arranging the cloth before positioning it under my arm and tying the sleeves around my neck like a sling, holding my shoulder in place. 

She took me back then, cradling me gently against her chest and holding Rhydian’s shirt to my head. “Get him out.” I demanded. “Get him out of here now!”

Rhydian was staring down at his shaking hands, which were streaked with my blood. His eyes were wide and with the blood rushing in my ears, I wasn’t even sure he was breathing now. “Gerwyn.” I felt Ceri nod towards him and Gerwyn moved toward his son slowly so as not to startle him.

“Hey… Rhyd?” He snapped then, turning his back to his mum and me and growling protectively, baring his wolf teeth. His dad backed up a few steps and held up his hands. “Hey now, Ychydig Blaidd.” He said gently.

Rhydian was crouched now, black veins crawling up into his cheeks and fingernails turning to claws. “Rhydian… Go.” I choked as a particularly sharp stab of pain shot through my shoulder.

He blinked rapidly for a few seconds, adrenaline gone, and staggered backwards. Gerwyn put his arm around him and lead him out into the kitchen where my parents had retreated too. 

Then it was just Ceri and I.

She was holding me tight, one hand pressing the fabric to my head and her other arm wrapped around my middle, bracing me and holding me still. “You’re okay…” She murmured quietly. “You’re okay.”  
“Rhydian.” I murmured.

“Will be fine with his dad.” Ceri reassured, her head resting against the side of mine. “We’ve dealt with his panic attacks before.”

“When can me mam come back in?” I whimpered quietly. I just wanted her to hold me; I wanted to press my head against her neck until the pain went away.

“Lets stop this bleeding first, see what we’re dealing with.” She reached up to tuck a stray strand of my hair behind my ear, out of my face. “You know, it’s not easy, seeing your cubs hurt.” She said quietly. “I remember when Rhydian was little, one and a half at the most, he tried to climb the outside of our den and fell through the roof, landed head first.” She paused for a moment and sighed, shaking her head at the memory. “He cut his head too, but back then I barely knew the basics of healing…”

I was calming down slightly now, intrigued by the story she was telling. it wasn’t often that I heard about Rhydian growing up. “Gerwyn and I were a mess, there was no help anywhere for miles, and Rhydian… Nothing I did comforted him, he screamed for hours, until his throat was so raw that he couldn’t, and finally he exhausted himself so much that he went to sleep.” She shifted us carefully, turning to rest her back against the sofa. “We fixed him up as best we could with what we had, turned out it was only a little cut anyway, head wounds always bleed a lot you see…”

“I stayed up with him all night, just to keep an eye on him, but come sunrise he was up and running around as if nothing happened... You see, it wasn’t so much the injury itself, the fall shocked him of course, but it was my and Gerwyn’s fear that frightened him the most… This is the reason I asked your parents to leave Madeline, the only reason.” I nodded slightly in understanding, my breaths coming easier now. 

She laughed quietly and I felt her shake her head. “Come noon he was trying to climb that same roof. Honestly I've never known a cub like him, anything he could reach he’d climb. 

“Still does.” I smiled weakly.

She hummed in amusement “If I hadn’t given birth to him myself I would have sworn he was half monkey rather than half wolf.”

I laughed, and then winced as the noise and movement jarred my head. “Headache?” I hummed the affirmative “That’s normal, do you feel sick at all? How’s your sight.”

“I feel sick when I move.” I murmured. “I can see fine though.”

There was a knock on the door leading to the kitchen and Gerwyn opened and peered around it. “Here.” He tossed pile of clean tea towels our way and Ceri grabbed one swapping it out for Rhydian’s shirt. “What do you need, Ceri-ad?”

I heard her take a breath and open her mouth to speak, but she paused. “…I… if I was back in the wild… but here.”

“What do you need them to do?” He said instead. 

“Ah. Stop infection, and reduce the swelling… I need something to clean my hands… I don’t think she’s going to need stitches, so just something to bandage her up with.”

“Steri-strips will do that.” Gerwyn answered.

“Steri-what?” I swallowed nervously, Ceri must have been good to be the soul healer of the wild pack, I just wasn’t sure her human medical knowledge was quite there yet. 

Gerwyn laughed, a small huff of air, and shook his head before meeting my eyes. “Don’t worry, Cariad, I’ll come in and keep her right.” He winked and disappeared back behind the door. 

He came back a few minutes later arms full of bottles and gauze and small cup of something in his hand. He instructed Ceri on what each thing was for and I was passed over to him while Ceri sterilised her hands, my head was too fuzzy to even be embarrassed about it.

He gave me some sort of bitter liquid that mam had made up to dull the pain. It smelt even worse than rescue remedy and tasted so bad that it made me gag, but even I had to admit it did the job. 

They chatted at me the entire time Ceri worked, distracting me from the sting of antiseptic and the throb in my head as she prodded my forehead and pressed the Steri-strips in place the way Gerwyn instructed. They told me about Rhydian when he was a baby and toddler, about how he wouldn’t go to bed unless Ceri sang to him, that it took the two of them to wrestle him into the bath, and how he used to draw pictures in the dirt with sticks. 

Then there was the time he’d hidden in the bushes with their week’s supply of blackberries and eaten the lot. “His clothes were ruined.” His mum mused fondly.

“And his face and hands were stained blue for a week, no word of a lie.” Gerwyn laughed. I couldn’t help but do the same, and the laugh turned to a fit of giggles cause I was pretty sure these drugs mam had given me, while they dulled the pain considerably, also apparently made everything hilarious.

I was vaguely aware of them manoeuvring me around so that my right arm was facing Ceri. “Okay, I’m going to untie my cardigan...”

“Yeah.” I agreed. “…I think I got blood on it though.” I turned to trying and check but Gerwyn turned me to face forward again, the side of my head against his chest. 

“That’s okay, Cariad.” She pulled the cardigan away from me carefully, lowering my arm down to my side. I let my head rest my head against Gerwyn’s chest, he kinda smelt like Rhydian.

Ceri pressed her fingers against my shoulder and down my arm, pressing against the bone; my shoulder throbbed, though not unbearably, but other than that the rest of my arm felt fine, maybe a little numb if anything. “I’m glad you two had Rhydian.” I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but it came out my lips anyway, stupid pain killers.

They both laughed. “We’re glad we had him too.” Ceri smiled, and there was a rip as she tore the sleeve from my sleep shirt.

I yawned. “He can be grumpy sometimes but I really like him.” Gerwyn’s chest shook with suppressed laughter.

“Shhh.” Ceri hissed, but I could hear the amusement there too. She held on to my arm and slowly lifted my forearm up 

“You don’t like me though.” I murmured.

She paused, sitting back on her heels and sighing. “What makes you say that?”

“I made him tame.” I murmured. “And that meant he couldn’t stay with you. You blamed me.” It was a lot more complicated, I knew that, but right now my head was too fuzzy to explain it. 

“I blamed a lot of people, Cariad… because it was a lot easier than blaming myself, but twelve years living in the human world, that boy was going to be tame no matter who he met along the way.” She squeezed my hand gently. “I’m glad he met you and I’m grateful that you looked after him… especially when I couldn’t.” I smiled softly, closing my heavy eyelids. “And besides, between you and me.” She whispered. “He makes a terrible wild wolf.”

I laughed and she reached forward to brush my hair out of my face push my head down against Gerwyn’s chest. “I just hope you still like me after this.” She murmured. There was an uncomfortable pressure in my shoulder and Gerwyn gripped me tighter as she pushed my arm against my chest. There was a sharp stab of pain, as my shoulder seemed to pop back into place, I cried out and tried to pull away but Gerwyn held me steady.

“There’s a sling in with that lot.” Gerwyn told her, then after a few seconds. “…Here.” I was passed back to Ceri who hugged me gently this time, careful not to knock my arm; she slipped her hand into mine.

“Can you squeeze my fingers?” I did as she asked, squeezing my eyes shut at the same time to try and stem the silent tears that were threatening to spill over. “That’s a good girl.” She ran her hand down through my hair and over my back. “We’re all done now. We’ll get your arm wrapped up and take you back to your mum.”

…

Once the sling, a proper one this time, was around my neck, they helped me up and into the kitchen, mam, dad and Rhydian we’re already getting up from the table, calmer now with their eyes all back to their usual colours.

Mam hugged me first and I could tell it took everything she had not to hold me as tight as she wanted, instead she settled for pressing her lips to my temple before pulling back to look me over, fingers skimming over my hairline. “I’m fine.” I groaned and hid my face back against her shoulder, breathing in her scent. 

“Thank you.” Mam said over my shoulder, towards where Rhydian’s parents had been standing, I turned in mam’s arms to watch them. Ceri bowed her head in acknowledgement. “And I’m sorry… for snapping at you.”

Ceri laughed. “No offence, but I've had worse.”

“You did well not to react to it though, I didn’t realise how much control you’d gained.” Mam complimented.

Ceri grinned and looked up at Gerwyn, smugly. He laughed and hugged her closer to him. “Thanks.” She smiled bashfully.

When mam finally let go, dad gave me a hug from the side to avoid my bad arm and kissed the top of my head. “What are we going to do with you? Eh?”

“Mam’s gonna make us walk around wearing a bike helmet for the rest of time.” I grumbled. 

“Shhh.” He whispered. “You’ll give her ideas.” I scoffed, and Dad was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. “Hey…He’s pretty shaken.” 

I looked up then to find Rhydian hovering a little ways in front of us, eye’s locked on me and wringing his hands together. “Hey.” I said softly. He opened his mouth and took a step forward, but froze after that. This happened a lot after panic attacks, he’d get jumpy and unsure what to do with himself.

I walked over to him and reached up to touch his face,, bringing him back to me. “You okay?” We asked simultaneously, making us both laugh, him a little shakily.

“I’m not the one cracking my head off of coffee tables.” He murmured, reaching out hesitantly to push my hair out of my face. I leaned into him, pressing my face against his shoulder, my bad arm against his chest. 

He touched my waist carefully, turning his nose into my hair. “You can hug me you know, I’m not that broken.” He scoffed lightly and I felt him physically relax against me, his shoulders dropping. 

He sighed heavily and hid his nose against the left side of my neck, his breaths evening out as he tightened his hold on me and wrapped his arms around my back. 

This is where I felt safe, grounded, right here in his arms, his scent enveloping me as I listened to the steady beat of his heart against my cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

**Maddy's POV**

 

“Mam! I’m fine!” I snapped, shrugging her off with my good arm. I’d spent the last half hour lying helplessly with my head over the sink as she tried to wash the blood out of my hair, I was cold, sore, and absolutely shattered, I wanted my bed.

 

“Okay.” She held out her hands and took a step back. “Are you sure you don’t need help....”

 

“Positive.” I huffed, tugging the door to my bedroom open awkwardly with my left hand, and pushing it closed again before she found a way to keep me up for another hour. She was reluctant to let me sleep so soon after hitting my head, despite the fact that Ceri had reassured her that I’d be alright, and the promise of Rhydian keeping an eye on me through the night.

 

“Mads.” Rhydian was sat on the edge of the bed, already in his sleep pants and minus a shirt, which I was too frustrated to appreciate right now. I turned to face him and the towel mam had wrapped around my head tipped sideways. I just about caught it with my good arm before it took my head with it.

 

I growled, trying and failing to tug the thing out of my hair, before Rhydian stood, grasped my hand to still it, and started to untangle me. “Calm down.”

 

“You try staying calm with me mother hovering and trying to pull y’hair out by the roots.” I snapped, trying to comb said hair out with my fingers, tugging at the tats as I found them.

 

“Maddy… Hey! Stop.” He gripped my forearm this time and pulled it back down to my side. His eyes locked on mine and stayed there, and I focused on the blue of his irises until the fight in me faded, and exhaustion set in once again. I turned my face against his chest and he let go of my hand to run it over my hair “Come on.”

 

He crouched down and scooped me up, one arm under my knees and the other behind my back. I squealed and wrapped my good arm around his neck. He sat me down on the bed and kneeled behind me, leaning over to the bedside table to retrieve my hairbrush.

 

He settled back on his heels, pulling my hair away from my neck and brushing out the ends. I tensed slightly expecting this to hurt more than it did when mam tried to brush it, dragging the brush against my scalp with every stroke, after all what experience did he have with long hair? But he was gentle, working his way from ends to roots and rubbing it dry with the towel as he went. It was nice…

 

“How do you know how to do this?” I murmured, leaning into him slightly.

 

He scoffed, lifting a hand to shield the cut on my forehead when he got particularly close. “What? Brush hair?”

 

“Brush hair without taking half me scalp with it.” I clarified. If I’d known he was this good at it, I would have let him do it sooner.

 

“I've had long hair before.” He reminded me.

 

I raised an eyebrow at him dubiously. “Yeah, in the wild, spoons were too human out there, never mind hairbrushes.”

 

He laughed tipping my head back slightly so he could brush right the way through. “My hair was long right up until about three weeks before we met.”

 

I frowned turned my head to look at him. “Seriousl- Ow!!” Turning my head so fast hurt. “Seriously?” I asked again.

 

He rubbed my back and held me steady before nodding. “For your post first transformation rebellion, you pinned in a load of extensions, I just cut mine off.”

 

I eyed him for a moment, trying to decide if he was messing with me, then trying to picture him with long hair on a permanent basis and frowned. “… Seriously?”

 

He smirked. “ Honest, you can ask Mrs Vaughn if you don’t believe me… I think cause I had long hair when they found me, no foster parent ever had the nerve to change it, so it just stayed long.” He was brushing my hair again now, but more to play with it than untangle it. “After my first transformation when I stopped feeling like I was going to explode, I went to the barbers and asked them to do whatever, just cut it short.”

 

I peered at him over my shoulder and grinned, I liked learning new things about him, hearing new stories. “I’m so glad you did.” He laughed and I yawned, leaning back against his chest and closing my eyes. “What time is it?”

 

There was a pause as he checked his watch, before he answered. “Nearly three in the morning,” I groaned. “Do you want me to leave you to… change…” he trailed off as I lifted the arm that was in the sling in answer. “I could get your mum.” He said instead.

 

“No.” I protested instantly. “I’d rather sleep in these.” I muttered. Although that wasn’t necessarily true, the arm was ripped where Ceri had torn it to get to my shoulder, it was wet from the water from my hair and getting colder by the second, and I was pretty sure there was blood on it somewhere.

 

I huffed and pulled the sling over my head, it hurt but nowhere near as bad as it had done before. “Maddy!” Rhydian hissed and I rolled my eyes. “Maddy, you’re gonna make it worse trying to change by yourself.”

 

“Give us a hand then.” I snapped… then cringed… then decided I was so tired that I was passed caring.

 

“Uhh.” Rhydian murmured, swallowing thickly and scratching the back of his neck. “I still think you should get your mum.”

 

I sighed heavily, falling back against him. “Rhydian, I’m shattered and me head’s banging, I can’t be arsed with me mam fussin’ with us again till god knows when.” I ranted. “Me body clock’s gonna be messed up as it is, I’ll probably end up sleeping till midday which means I’ll be up again all night tomorrow and then Santa won’t come.” I whined pathetically.

 

He laughed and I smiled, closing my eyes. “Besides you’ve had your hands under there enough, aren’t you curious?”

 

“Mads.” He laughed nervously. “That’s not the point.”

 

“Rhydian, please.” We hadn’t taken things this far yet, so I understood why he was nervous… I was kind of nervous too, but I was also tired, and cranky, and the pain meds I’d been given were starting to wear off and leave me achy.

 

He sighed heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. “Fine.”

 

I scoffed. “Please. Don’t try and sound too enthusiastic.”

 

He hummed lightly in amusement and then stood, walking over to a chest of drawers on the opposite wall and pulling out one of his shirts. “That’s not it, and you know it… Here.” He placed the shirt on the bed beside me. “It’ll probably be easier to get you into something loose.”

 

“You wont see me objecting to sleeping in your clothes.” I grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood slightly, this was getting far too serious. “…Hey.” He looked up from the shirt collar he’d been messing with. “It’s just me.”

 

He laughed nervously, scrubbing at his face with one of his hands. “The fact that it’s ‘just you’ is what makes this so difficult… this isn’t exactly how I imagined this going…” I opened my mouth to retort but he held up a hand to stop me. “Make one smartarse remark about me imagining you topless and you can sleep in what you’re wearing.” I bit my lip and held my tongue.

 

It was awkward for the most part, the two of us trying to twist me out of my shirt, anything that could get tangled, did. My arm, my hair, even one of those stupid little loops that were supposed to keep your tops on the hangers, got caught on one of my earrings, and that was before I even attempted to manoeuvre my bad arm out of the fabric.

 

“Something tells me this would be less awkward if we were kissing.” I smirked, pushing myself up to try and brush my lips against his.

 

“I can barley do this when I’m concentrating.” He laughed, turning his head away slightly. He pulled the top off my arm, folding it hastily and holding it out to me.

 

“I think…” I took the shirt from him and tossed it towards the bin. “That’s your problem.” I grinned, leaning back into him. “You think too much.” I kissed him, running the hand of my good arm down over his shoulder, across his chest while the other stayed limp against his side. His skin was warm and smooth to the touch, I was definitely appreciating the no shirt thing right about now, but his muscles were tense with uncertainty. 

 

He still got like this from time to time, especially when it came to something we hadn’t done before. I got the impression that physical affection of any sort still made him a little hesitant and unsure, he’d spent so long staved of it,

 

I could remember the first time I’d hugged him, something I couldn’t say the same for when it came to Tom or Shannon, and what I remembered most about it was the way he had gone rigid in my arms, his back as straight as a rod and hands hovering awkwardly over my back. It had been after the fire in the science lab, the day Shannon's werewolf theories had started. 

 

He'd walked me home, carried my bag, and held my hair back when all that chemical smoke inhalation finally caught up with me and made me sick. After, I'd sat in the dirt, shaking as my hands had started transforming again and he'd sat with me until it passed, before guiding me home .

 

He'd surprised me by staying even after my parents got home, despite the fact that they obviously still made him uneasy, finishing the film we'd been watching (To this day I still thought it was crime that none of his foster families had introduced him to The Pirates of the Caribbean) before making his excuses to leave. It didn't sound like much, but back then it had pretty much been a major break through.

 

He'd hovered in the doorway when it had been for him to leave, stalling, and I'd realised with a bit of a start that he was worried about me, even if he was trying to hide it, or perhaps he didn't even realise it himself.

 

I'd hugged him, not really thinking much of it until he'd tensed, so I’d pulled away, thinking I’d over stepped my mark, but he’d apologised almost the second I’d let go of him and held his arms out again, because as uncomfortable as they had made him in the beginning, Rhydian was a hugger. He’d been less tense the second time around, but still noticeably nervous, and the words had been out my mouth before I could really think about them. ‘ _When was the last time someone hugged you?_ ’

 

He didn’t answer right away, but I hadn’t needed to see the furrow of his brows to know it was there. _‘…. I don’t remember’_

 

I'd nuzzled against his shoulder and squeezed him tighter at that, silently thanking him for everything he'd done that afternoon, setting off that fire alarm during the exam, walking me home and looking after me. My hands had never physically transformed before, and even though I knew what was happening, I'd still been terrified over the fact that it was happening too soon. the only thing that had kept me grounded was knowing that he'd been nearby.

 

It was later that night, while I lay awake, that I realised that Rhydian hadn't had the luxury of knowing what was going on with him... he'd likely watched his hands turn and his teeth transform in his mouth and hadn't had a clue what was happening to him... When I'd asked him about it the next day, I'd been met with a clenched jaw and his eyes pressed shut, like he was reliving a nightmare. " _I passed out._ " Was the only answer he gave you whenever you asked about his first transformation, it still was, but I think we both knew there was more to it than that... Maybe one day he'd tell me.

That hug hadn't lasted long, he'd turned his face against my hair, but the scent of the smoke clinging to it had hurt his nose and forced him to back away, but by now he’d more than gotten used to hugs, from me and his parents and Tom and Shan and Jana, but being in a more physical relationship with him, you realised the there was still some nervousness there.

 

I kept kissing him gently until he found his bearings and I felt him relax against me and start kissing me back, It was a good way to distract him when he began over thinking too much. He threaded his fingers up into my hair, probably messing up all his hard work but I didn’t care, the skin on skin contact was thrilling.

 

He turned his head to press open-mouthed kisses down my neck, his other hand leaving its spot at the small of my back to brush down over my hip and rest across the top of my leg.                  

 

I urged his lips back against mine after that, only to ruin the moment by yawning against him. He laughed quietly and pulled away, brushing my hair carefully out of my face and leaning back to look at me. "I'm not sure whether to be amused or offended by that."

 

I groaned sleepily at his teasing and let my head fall against his shoulder.

 

I felt him smile against me as he pressed his lips to my hair. "Let's get you changed and sleep." He urged, picking up the new shirt.

 

He helped me into it, fastening up the buttons and rolling up the sleeves, and I watched his face as he did so, the sharp line of his jaw and the slight furrow of his brow as he let his knuckles brush lightly across my skin.

 

I tried to save him the embarrassment of undoing my bra, trying to unclasp it one handed when I couldn’t twist my bad arm far enough back, but it was hopeless. “Just… push the two sides together and it’ll unhook…” I instructed.

 

“What the..?” The elastic snapped against my back and I hissed. “Sorry!” He said hastily… there was more tugging and I braced myself, ready for another snap, but then it loosened and he pulled his hands out from beneath my shirt.

 

I sighed in relief and laughed quietly, pulling the straps down, tugging it out from under my shirt and tossing it towards the laundry hamper.

 

When I’d reluctantly put my sling back on, Ceri’s orders, I lay back against Rhydian’s chest. It took a few minutes of twisting and turning and readjusting, to find a comfortable position, Rhydian silencing my disgruntled muttering about having to sleep on the wrong side of the bed, by kissing and nuzzling up to the back of my neck.

 

And after a few moments of still silence, his breaths grew steady against my back as he drifted off to sleep. I focused on the steady rise and fall of his chest and the reassuring weight of his arms around me, and followed him not long after.

 

 

 

….

 

 

 

I walked into the kitchen the next morning, or I guess it was closer to noon, in the search of some painkillers. I’d woken up to a banging headache and my arm felt as though it was clamped in a vice, all stiff and achy.

 

Rhydian had been in the shower when I’d woken up so I’d figured I’d come down and sort myself out rather than worry him.

 

Instead of finding painkillers I found Ceri and Gerwyn doing the dishes. Ceri stood at the sink, up to her elbows in suds and her hair was tied back into two French braids that ran down over her back, something I’d noticed was a much more regular occurrence now, it made her look younger.

 

Gerwyn was perched on the counter beside her, drying the ones she placed in the rack. The radio was on, playing Christmas songs the way it always did on Christmas Eve, constantly, and I was surprised to hear Ceri singing along as she worked.

 

It wasn't just the fact that she knew the words that shocked me either, she actually wasn’t half bad.

 

“…Hey.” I said finally, making her jump which was an achievement in itself, cause I’d never known her to not be aware of everything that was going on around her.

 

“Maddy!”

 

“I didn’t know you could sing.” I smirked, peering over at Gerwyn who was also smirking at her.

 

She laughed bashfully, messing with the end of one of her plaits. “I didn’t, not for a long time… But yeah.” She tossed the braid over her shoulder. “The music is one of my favourite things about the human world.”

 

“Thanks Ceri-ad.” Gerwyn feigned hurt.

 

“You come a close third.” She reassured, tilting her head back to smirk at him before smiling at me.

 

“What? After the washing machine?” He scoffed.

 

She answered him without looking back this time, an innocent smile on her lips as she did so. “Until the day comes that you can wash clothes as quick as that thing. Yep.” It was impossible not to laugh at their antics, they bickered like something between cubs and an old married couple. “How are you feeling?” She asked finally, drying her hands on a tea towel and turning towards me.

 

“Sore.” I admitted.

 

“Mmm.” She hummed. “You will be.” She reached up to touch my shoulder but paused before she touched me. “Can I?”

 

“Go for it.” I turned to give her a better angle, and she slipped her hand under the sling to feel my shoulder. “How many times have you done this anyway?” It was a lot easier to talk to her now.

 

“Put someone’s shoulder back in place? I've lost count.” She laughed quietly. “It's a lot more common in the wild than you'd think. I've had to do his twice.” She nodded back towards Gerwyn, who was rummaging around in the cupboard in the far corner, on the medicine shelf. “You’re still a little swollen, but that’s normal, I’d keep it in the sling for today.” She advised, and reached up to brush my hair back off my forehead. “And this looks better already.” She leaned closer and sniffed. “I don’t smell any infection, which was my main worry… you should tie your hair back though, keep it out of the cut.”

 

I made a face. “I hate tying my hair back.” I admitted.

 

She threaded her fingers through the front of my hair and brushed it back behind my ear. “I could just braid this bit to keep it out of the way if you’d prefer.”

 

“Would you mind?” I tugged at where my sling pulled on my neck. “I don’t think I could brush it on my own right now anyway.”

 

“Of course not.” She laughed, turning to say something to Gerwyn in Welsh and pressing her lips to his cheek. “Come on.” She touched my back to turn me around, and pushed me gently towards the living room. “This is one of the drawbacks of having two boys…”

 

We sat down, just the two of us in the room, her perched on the sofa and me sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her as she combed through my hair with her fingers. “With Jana living away now, I don’t get to do this as often anymore… Head back.” I did what she asked, letting my head rest against her knees. “Shannon lets me do her hair sometimes though.”

 

“You seem to get on well with her.” Both Shannon and Tom talked about them a lot, when they video called us and while they stayed here a few weeks back. They had their own little pack going on by the sounds of it, and went over to the old house for dinner once a week, which is when they’d call us.

 

“Shannon’s a lovely girl… I never really had any girl friends growing up… or ever…” She scoffed quietly. “Never really had any friends, other than Gerwyn...” she was still combing her fingers through the front of my hair, the touch methodical and soothing. “So I think I've been borrowing yours.”

 

“That’s okay.” I smiled up at her. “I’m borrowing your son so I think we’re even.”

 

She hummed in amusement. “I think you did me a favour, him and Gerwyn in the same house, it’s like having two teenage cubs instead of one.” As if summoned Gerwyn clattered though the door tackling Rhydian into the living room.

 

Ceri sighed.

 

Gerwyn pinned his son to the arm of the sofa, bending him over it until his feet lifted up off the floor, and twisting his arm behind his back, the other trapped beneath his chest. “Come _on,_ ychydig blaidd. Your _mother_ puts up more of a fight than this.” He goaded.

 

"'Ychydig bliadd'?" I repeated in far from perfect Welsh. Gerwyn called Rhydian it a lot, but I'd never gotten around to asking what it meant.

 

"'Little wolf.'" Ceri answered my unspoken question. 

 

Rhydian snarled at him, towel around his neck and hair still wet from his shower, as he thrashed and tried to throw him off. “Pack it in!” He grunted as Gerwyn shoved him back down. “Mum… Mum!”

 

Gerwyn laughed. “Aww is the little cub crying for his mummy, poor baby.” Rhydian snarled again, muttering darkly in welsh.

 

His mum’s hands paused in my hair and her head snapped up. “Language!” she scolded and Gerwyn batted him upside the head. Rhydian snapped at him, baring his wolf teeth and flashing his eyes. “And no transforming in the house!”

 

“Put your mutt back on his leash!” Rhydian growled, struggling in his dad's grip. Gerwyn released his arm only to duck down and grab his legs rolling him head over tail onto the sofa.

 

I’d been laughing the whole time, my shoulder aching a little from the jostling, but that had me clutching my stomach, leaning back against Ceri’s legs. Rhydian clambered off the sofa and came to sit by me, still growling at his dad who threw himself down onto it and growled playfully back. Rhydian chucked his towel at him, Gerwyn lobbed it back, and Ceri snatched it from the air before it could get near me.

 

Rhydian slumped down and huffed, resting his head on my good shoulder. I ran my chin over his damp hair and grinned, remembering when I was a cub and used to wrestle with my own dad, still did sometimes. That’s how you learned, play fighting from when you were just a few years old, but Rhydian hadn’t had that growing up, at least not until now. I wrestled with him, but the more I watched the more I realised wild and tame born Wolfbloods had very different fighting styles.

 

He turned to look at me and smiled. “I don’t think I've ever seen you with your hair done.”

 

“Y’mam’s making it bearable.” I explained.

 

“Gerwyn’s mum used to do my hair.” She said suddenly. “My own mum never bothered, but back then it was so long that it got tangled and matted all the time… Ffion would do it for me every morning when she brought Gerwyn to play with me.” She was braiding my own hair now picking up new sections as she went. “I always swore that I'd treat any girl Rhydian brought home the same way that she treated me, rather than the way my own mum treated Gerwyn, which wasn’t very nicely at all, but I’m afraid it took me a little while to get there.” She laughed nervously.

 

She was quiet for a few moments after that, and I leaned back into her slightly trying to silently tell her she was forgiven. “She used to sing to me while she did it.” She mused finally, her voice rising in pitch, as she sang a few lines quietly in Welsh.

 

Rhydian narrowed his eyes at her, watching her with his head tilted slightly to the side, before opening his mouth and saying the next words to her in the same tune.

 

Her eyes widened and she broke into a grin. “You remember?”

 

“Vaguely," He laughed. "I couldn’t tell you what it meant though.” 

 

“It’s an old Wolfblood lullaby, about a cub, that goes exploring to all corners of the land, but no matter how far they roam, the moon always guides them back home, back to their pack.” She laughed quietly. “I sang it to you when you were little, you wouldn't sleep until you'd heard it and as you got older you'd sing that bit along with me." She smiled, eyes distant at the memory. "Of course, I never expected you to take it so literally.”

 

Rhydian rolled his eyes. “Your hair you used to be tied it up like that all the time, too, right? It looks… familiar.” This had happened a couple of times since they’d come to visit, they’d say or do something that would spark an old memory… or perhaps more of a feeling, that he’d seen or heard it before.

 

“All the time.” She scoffed then. “In the wild it gets in the way a lot, gets dirty quicker when it’s down, and you loved hair when you were a cub, but you would twist it around your sticky fists and pull on it when you were fussy so it was easier to tie it back…” She smiled fondly. “You used to stroke my plaits as you fell asleep.”

 

“How come you never wore it like that after you found me?”

 

“I've never been able to do my own hair.” She admitted, and then smiled. “But Ffion taught your dad how to do my hair not long after we got together.”

 

Rhydian turned to his dad and scoffed. “You do her hair?”

 

Gerwyn let his head loll over the side of the sofa arm, smiling mockingly at him. “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”

 

“Yeah, but hairdressing?” He laughed, and I resisted the urge to remind him who's hair he'd been doing last night.

 

“Isn’t actually all that different from making nets or weaving baskets, which you had to know in the wild anyway.” His dad defended. “And my mum pretty much forced me to learn, cause despite the fact that I was the only biological one, it was an unspoken truth that Ceri was her favourite child.” He deadpanned.

 

Ceri laughed.

 

She tucked my hair back behind my ear and squeezed my good shoulder. “There you go, Cariad.” I reached up and ran my fingers over the braid she’d put across my hairline, trailing from a point just off centre to curl around my right ear, keeping my hair back off my forehead.

 

“Thank you.” I looked back at her then over at Rhydian. “How do I look?”

 

He narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head. “It’s still weird seeing you with your hair back.” I rolled my eyes and his mam kicked him, muttering something at him in Welsh. Rhydian frowned. “Tell her she’s _what?”_

 

I laughed and Ceri sighed, exasperated but shoved him playfully, saying something different this time, slowly and pointedly so that Rhydian would understand.

 

Rhydian took a moment, opened his mouth to speak, closed it again to frown and then finally replied in what I thought was perfectly good Welsh, but his dad laughed from his spot on the sofa and Ceri apparently thought otherwise. “What language was that?” She scoffed. “Have you been practicing?”

 

Rhydian peered up at her. “A bit.”

 

She eyed him knowingly. “I’ll take that as 'Not at all.'”

 

He smiled up at her, the picture of innocence, and oh my god, he was such an idiot sometimes. “I've been… distracted.” His eyes darted over to me then back to his mam and I gaped at him.

 

“Hmm.” She hummed, amusement clear in her tone even then. “I’m sure you’ve had far better things to do with your lips than re learning your mother tongue.”

 

Rhydian held up his hands in surrender. “In my defence, I've been through an international move _and_ retook my exams in the space of four months…”

 

She grinned over at him and stood up, mussing up his hair. “Okay, I guess I’ll let you off then.” She walked over to Gerwyn who was messing with his phone now, and ran a hand over his shoulder affectionately, he put the device down, arching his back and leaning in to her, eyes closed and grin on his lips...

 

She gripped the collar of his shirt and dragged him off the sofa without warning, pinning him to the floor and snarling at him. “Come _on,_ ychydig blaidd. Your _mother_ puts up more of a fight than this.” She mocked his earlier words to Rhydian and he growled at her, straining against the hands that were clamped down on his shoulders. She shoved his face into the carpet, laughing and jumping up before running off into the kitchen and towards the back door.

 

He scrambled to his feet and took off after her, and Rhydian and I crawled up onto the sofa to watch out the window, laughing as their wolves ran out into the snow and out towards the Rockies.

 

Rhydian was still shaking his head at them when he turned to face me, sinking down into the sofa cushions, and I reached up with my good hand to brush away the droplets of water that had ran down from his hair and were clinging to his temple.

 

He threaded his fingers with mine to hold me in place and closed his eyes, turning his head against my hand, and pressing his lips to my palm. Other than last night we hadn't really gotten any time alone since Rhydian's parents arrived, the two of us both on tenterhooks trying not to make a bad impression on the others parents.

 

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. "Good morning to you too." I laughed into the kiss, pecking him lightly. "You should have woken me up." That half hour or so of waking up and pulling around was one of my favourite parts of the day, or at least it was once Rhydian had moved here. That time was our own, a time that we could spend curled up against each other, or kissing without the threat of being walked in on, or even just talking in hushed tones about anything and nothing.

 

"You looked tired..." He whispered. "You still do... and you were restless all night" I was shattered to be honest, I'd been up every hour, sometimes more, waking up to the pounding of my head or a sharp stab of pain every time I twisted my shoulder in my sleep.

 

"After taking on that coffee table, i'll consider looking 'tired' a win." I murmured.

 

He traced the plait his mam had put in my hair with the tip of his fingers, his gaze softening. "'I'll have to draw you with your hair like this... You look pretty."

 

I rolled my eyes and screwed up my nose in protest. He didn't compliment the way I looked often, and to be honest I found it a little weird when he did. I knew he liked the way I looked, even if he didn't articulate it all that often. I knew it in the way he'd look at me as he drew me, usually while I was doing something random like watching TV or editing photos.  "Can you edit out the cuts and bruises? and the dark circles under my eyes? and I'm pretty sure I've got a spot brewing over here some-" 

 

He cut me off with another kiss.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you've enjoyed your birthday present Lovecamedown! 
> 
> and if you're not her, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter anyway, i'll try to get the next instalment up ASAP! But please leave a comment to let me know what you think so far! 
> 
> -EndlessMoonrise X


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